Light A Million Homes – Palawan Kick-Off

Last July 7-9, Fashion One Foundation and Fashion One Network representatives traveled to Puerto Princessa, Palawan to turnover 1,000 solar lamps to the municipality’s Local Government Unit (LGU) as part of the foundation’s Light A Million Homes Project. The crew was welcomed and accompanied by outgoing Puerto Princessa Mayor Edward “Ed” Hagedorn as the province’s representative to distribute the solar lamps to the residents of the remote mountain areas, so remote that no electricity lines are able to reach there.

A thousand families from Barangay San Rafael, Barangay Napsan and Barangay Cabayugan became beneficiaries of the solar lamps. It takes about 2-3 hours of rough intense mountain terrain on private SUV vehicle just to reach these areas. With no communication signals and no electricity, residents in these areas runs a simple life with farming as the main source of income and sunlight as their source of energy.

“It was so heartwarming to see the smiles on the people and children’s faces when they received the lanterns. Their dim homes now have lights that their children can study properly,” Monika Rofler, Fashion One Model

Children have to walk several kilometers to attend school and walk the same distance to go back home, leaving them only a few hours to none to take advantage of the sunlight to study and finish their assignments. The families use candle sticks or kerosene to light up their homes not only at night but also during the day due to their poorly lit homes where sunlight can’t get through.

“The use of candles and kerosene for lighting are not only a strain in these families daily budgets, but are also the main cause of accidental house fires in the area,” former mayor Hagedorn attests, “I’m so happy that Fashion One Foundation are donating these solar lamps that utilizes a more safe, environmentally friendly and free renewable source of light to our province.”

Distribution of the lamps was held at each barangay captains’ house, usually the central meeting point for town’s activities. There are residents that walked 7 kilometers just to receive the lamps, knowing how important this simple commodity is, which will help to improve their livelihood and quality of living.

Palawan is known as the last frontier of the Philippines where wildlife still roam and nature flourish. It is home to majority of the flora and fauna species not only in the Philippines, but also the world. The people of Palawan are proud of this and are proactive in preserving their land. Solar energy is a simple yet effective way to help.